Building on the work set out in our hate crime strategy, we aim to deter, abate and resolve hate crime to allow everyone in LBHF to live free from violence, harassment, hostility and prejudice.
Our strategy identifies four key objectives to tackle hate crime in the borough.
1. Prevent hate crime and increase community cohesion
2. Increase trust and confidence to encourage reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents
3. Provide effective support to those affected by hate crime and hate incidents (including witnesses)
4. Work with partners to take coordinated action against perpetrators
Prevent hate crime and increase community cohesion
We want to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion alongside preventing hate crimes and hate incidents in our borough.
We will:
- Raise awareness of hate crime and promote the value of diversity, cultural understanding and acceptance through training and engagement.
- Continue to challenge behaviour and attitudes that can underlie hate crimes and promote an inclusive culture across the borough which respects equality, equity, and diversity.
- Ensure hate crime remains a priority in key forums across H&F.
- Continue to engage with experts and our communities to guide our approach.
- Encourage and empower our communities to be positive bystanders by encouraging them to safely intervene if they witness hate crimes or hate incidents, by calling out the behaviour and reporting incidents. This will be supported by the provision of bystander training by the council.
- Ensure all employees are trained to identify hate crime if they witness or it is reported to them and that they are confident in knowing what action should be taken. We will ensure that where data suggests there is an increase in a particular hate crime in the borough specialised training will be delivered.
Increase trust and confidence to encourage reporting hate crimes and hate incidents
Evidence suggests hate incidents and hate crimes are under reported to agencies such as the council and police. We recognise that this is partly due to the poor trust and confidence in statutory services amongst some communities.
To help build trust and confidence, we will:
- Work with our communities to improve our approach to tackling hate crime and supporting victims.
- Listen to what victims tell us using their feedback to improve our response(s).
- Create clear and accessible referral processes so victims can access support quickly and easily and don't have to retell their story.
- Promote other ways of reporting incidents and accessing support, such as via the Stop Hate UK helpline and Crimestoppers.
- We will work with residents and community groups to improve trust and confidence in all statutory services and will work with them to understand what support they want and need.
- The Community Safety Partnership, along with the Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Community Safety and the Council's Policy and Accountability Committee, will continue to hold partners to account in delivering on the hate crime action plan. Further details on the hate crime action plan can be found in our hate crime strategy.
Provide effective support to those affected by hate crime (including witnesses)
Our decision-making process will prioritise a victim-centred approach, ensuring that the actions we take and the support we provide are guided by the voices of those affected.
A 'victim-centred' approach is one where we work towards meeting the needs specified by or identified on behalf of the victim making sure they are central to the decision-making process and that we work in their best interests.
To do this, we will:
- Listen to what victims tell us and use their feedback to improve support available. All hate crimes and incidents reported to LBHF will be treated as a priority.
- Understand that the poor management of hate crime cases may have an impact on our communities.
- Our communication with residents when managing their case will be concise and easy to follow so victims know what is being done to support them. Where relevant, we will include guidance and support for residents including the importance of completing diary sheets and information on support agencies available to them. The case officers contact details will be clearly visible on every letter so that residents are aware of how they can get in touch. Details will also be provided on what support is available if they are not happy with the support provided.
- We will take prompt, measured, and balanced action whenever incidents are reported.
- Provide support and training across the borough to employees and frontline professionals on hate crime/hate incidents and how to respond appropriately.
- We recognise that the most valuable learning comes from listening to victims and communities in our borough.
- Promote services such as Stop Hate UK and Crimestoppers online and provide an online reporting tool making it easier for victims to report hate crimes and hate incidents.
- Work with partners and communities to enhance our support offer and ensure support can be provided by a range of services which meet victim needs.
- Make referrals to the Community Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (CMARAC) in order to generate a robust action plan to protect victims.
- Inform victims that they can use the ASB Case Review (Community Trigger) for an independent review of the management of their case if they are not happy and will also inform them of our complaints process.
- Advocate for victims and provide advice and support to other registered social landlords and private landlords on how to tackle hate incidents and hate crimes within their properties. This would include promoting the ASB case review so that victims can have an independent assessment of how their case has been managed.
- Train professionals to identify factors which could indicate that an incident or crime is motivated by hatred and how to refer hate crimes/incidents to the police or ASBU on the victims' behalf, ensuring that the right support is offered by the right service for the individual case.
Work with partners to take coordinated action against perpetrators
We will work together to take robust action against perpetrators of hate crime and hate incidents.
To do this, we will:
- Use all the tools and powers available to us under legislation to take action against perpetrators, as appropriate. This includes enforcing the street harassment public spaces protection order (PSPO) prohibiting street harassment across the whole borough. The PSPO will give authorised officers the ability to issue a fixed penalty notice, when they witness an individual directing unwanted verbal or physical attention towards a person or group of people where it is likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress in a public space. This would include sexist, homophobic or transphobic slurs.
- Where appropriate instigate possession proceedings to evict perpetrators of hate incidents and hate crime from council properties. Make referrals to the Community Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (CMARAC) in order to generate a robust action plan to ensure action is taken against perpetrators of hate crime and hate incidents.
- Train professionals to identify factors which could indicate that an incident or crime is motivated by hatred and how to refer hate crimes/incidents to the police or ASBU to ensure perpetrators are held to account.